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Exclusive: How Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Hid Out from the Paparazzi When Their Relationship Went Public

In her new book, Vanity Fair contributor Katie Nicholl reveals new details about the days after Harry and Meghan’s relationship first hit the tabloid page, and what inspired the prince to make an unprecedented public statement in support of his future fiancée.

In this exclusive excerpt from her upcoming bookHarry: Life, Loss, and Love, Kate Nicholl, a Vanity Fair contributor, provides the behind-the-scenes glimpse at what happened for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at two pivotal points in their relationship: when the tabloids first reported they were seeing each other in late October 2016, and then a week later, when Harry took the unprecedented step of releasing an official statement from Kensington Palace, asking the press to respect Markle’s privacy. Their relationship had flourished in private since they first met in July of that year, but when the eyes of the world turned to the prince and his potential bride-to-be, the couple was forced to work hard for their peace and quiet.

OCTOBER 2016

Like his brother, Harry enjoyed outfoxing the media, and while he was disappointed the story had broken, he knew he was lucky to have enjoyed several months getting to know Meghan without press scrutiny. When the story broke, Harry happened to be with Meghan in Toronto. He was apparently taken by surprise when his aides called to tell him the story was going to be front-page news and knew that very soon he and Meghan would be under siege. A story was leaked that Harry had canceled a flight to Toronto to try and make it look like he was in the U.K., but photographers and reporters descended on Meghan’s home regardless.

When Meghan suggested they go to stay with her friends Ben and Jessica Mulroney, Harry agreed. The Mulroneys were two of the few friends who knew about the romance, and they were more than happy to let the couple take shelter from the paparazzi at their Toronto house. Jessica, a stylist, is one of Meghan’s best friends, while Ben is a TV host who presents CTV’s entertainment news program etalk. Harry had become friendly with them both and was a big hit with the couple’s three young children, 7-year-old twins Brian and John, and their 4-year-old daughter, Isobel.

“When Harry came to visit the family he brought a bag filled with gifts. He won the kids over in an instant. He was brilliant with them and I think what swung it for Meghan was how good Harry was with them,” says a source. “I actually think that might have been the moment Meghan really fell for Harry. He got to know the Mulroneys quite well, and they liked Harry from the beginning.”

Spread over 3 floors and with impressive 14-foot-high ceilings, the Mulroneys’ open-plan home was a sanctuary for Meghan and Harry. No one knew where they were, and behind closed doors the foursome got to know each other. Harry was fascinated when Ben, the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, recounted lively stories of how Princess Diana once stayed with his family during an offcial tour to Canada and, finding herself bored with talking politics after dinner, had ventured up to the nursery to play with Ben and his three siblings.

“Harry found them immediately kind and welcoming people, and he loved hearing stories about his mother,” a friend of Ben’s told me. “Jessica is one of the nicest, sweetest people you will ever meet, and Ben is really easy to get along with.”

It was just as well Meghan and Harry had somewhere to hide because over the following days the story snowballed. It was quickly discovered that the pair followed each other on Instagram, and as the media were eager to share, in one of the photos she had posted Meghan was wearing a blue-and-white beaded bracelet identical to one Harry wore.

The actress’s L.A.-based agency at the time fueled the rumors of a romance when they were contacted for comment and said: “Should this be confirmed by the Palace, all of us at Kruger Cowne are delighted for them and wish them well.” In fact, there was so much fervid hype about the romance that bookmakers suspended bets on a royal wedding, having previously been offering odds of 12 to 1 that Harry would announce his engagement in 2016 and 5 to 1 that he would marry in 2017.

Left, Markle photographed leaving yoga in Toronto in April of last year; Right, Meghan and Harry photographed together for the first time at the September 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto.

Left, from Splash News; Right, by Karwai Tang/WireImage.

NOVEMBER 8, 2016

By early November, Meghan asked her bosses on Suits for a break in filming and flew to London to be with Harry for what was meant to be a romantic getaway. But the trip proved to be stressful. The Sun newspaper had that week published a front-page story that some of Meghan’s racy scenes from Suits were being trailed on a porn Web site. One of the scenes included her character Rachel Zane having sex with a colleague against a filing cabinet.

Meghan was horrified, telling friends she was convinced that the British press was “out to get her.” It was the final straw for Harry who, according to a source, “completely flipped” when he read the story. He decided to issue a direct statement to the press. It was to be a warning shot to Fleet Street and all the social-media trolls whose hateful comments Harry had unwisely read on Twitter and the Internet.

Meghan, who was in London with Harry at the time the statement was released, was supportive. According to a source: “They were Harry’s words and sentiments, but Meghan was worried about her safety and particularly upset and distressed that her mother was being hounded for comment, and Harry made sure that particular issue was addressed.”

After working on several versions, Harry marched across the cobbled courtyard to Apartment 8 at Kensington Palace where his office is based, to hand the statement to his press secretary, Jason Knauf.

On November 8, just before midday the statement was released on Twitter. It was explosive, unprecedented, and highly flammable. Acknowledging that Meghan Markle was his girlfriend for the first time since the rumors had started, Prince Harry claimed that the actress had been “subject to a wave of abuse and harassment” that was sexual and racist. His anger was palpable, and he was determined to stem the stories before things really got out of control. After all, he had already lost two serious girlfriends who couldn’t deal with the pressure of being in the spotlight; he wasn’t prepared to lose a third.

The palace said Harry personally “asked for this statement to be issued in the hopes that those in the press who have been driving this story can pause and reflect before any further damage is done. He knows that it is unusual to issue a statement like this, but hopes that fair-minded people will understand why he has felt it necessary to speak publicly.”

Unsurprisingly, the statement triggered a media storm. It was one of the most powerfully worded public defenses of privacy any member of the royal family had ever issued. While some commentators commended the prince for being chivalrous and standing by his girl, others like the Daily Mail said he had been “hot headed . . . ring off scatter gun accusations against those who have reported and commented on his affair.” It reopened the debate about press freedom and did nothing to help Harry’s already complicated relationship with the media, and there was some frustration as to why the Palace hadn’t simply gone to IPSO, the new press regulator, to issue “desist notices.”

“There is a worrying tendency,” the Daily Mail noted in one of its comment pages, “particularly among the young royals, to expect all the advantages that go with their birth while at the same time wanting to enjoy the privacy afforded to those of the Queen’s subjects who have to work nine-to-five for a living.”

There was criticism that Prince Harry’s team of courtiers had not done enough to convince him to issue a less divisive statement, but Harry had wanted to take a swipe at the press and truly felt that a line had been crossed.

Staff at Clarence House were said to be surprised by the overtly personal nature of the statement, as well as its timing. Charles was overseas on an important diplomatic tour of the Middle East at the time, and although aides would not confirm whether he had been consulted about the statement before it went out, it took the focus firmly off the Prince of Wales’s visit.

While Prince William, who had by now met Meghan, supported his brother and agreed that the press coverage had gone too far, he had also urged caution over the statement. From the moment the press had caught on to Kate, she had been followed everywhere by photographers, yet the couple rarely made legal complaints. It was only when a French magazine published pictures of Kate sunbathing topless on holiday in September 2012 that the Cambridges took action. Harry, however, was more impulsive than his older brother and had insisted on sending out the statement.

Just days later Meghan was photographed shopping on Kensington High Street and walking back to the Palace, confirming that she was staying with Harry at the time he issued the heartfelt missive. She was spotted by a Daily Mail journalist while shopping at the Kensington branch of the grocer Whole Foods. In her Hunter Wellington boots and Barbour coat, Meghan was attired more for a shooting than a shopping trip, but the fact that she was wearing Harry’s favorite brown baseball cap really blew her cover. It seemed when it came to outwitting the British media, Meghan Markle still had quite a lot to learn.